Method of packaging



Jan. 30, 1951 H. JENETT 2,539,513

METHOD 0F' PACKAGING Filed -Ju1y 20, 1946 STEP - |NVENTOR 2 LY "10 Hifi/FY Jas/ 57T ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 30, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

METHOD. F PACKAGING Henry: Jenett, Montclair, N; .l.; Caroline Louise Maria.. Jenett executrix of the estate ofsaid Henry-length deceased Application July 20, 1946, Serial No. 685,087

(Cl. 18e56') 4 Glaims,

The present invention relates to, the packaging of materials or articles in plastic foils, etc. and*Y is. particularly directed to improvements in the application of such packaging materials in liquid form and. to the finished'product produced thereby.

Inthe packaging. industryit is now well known to apply strip-.coating compositions directly to articles. or packages requiring protection from moisture, noxious fumes, oxidation or corrosion caused by atmosphericchangesor any other deleterious conditions, such. for.K example as unsanitary handling, aswell as from abrasion and ordinary wear and tear. encountered in transit or in storage. Thefskin-tight coverings resulting from the application; of, the aboveA referred to compositions directly to the article have numerous advantages, over the older methods of packaging protection employing-specially treated wrappers` such as parchmentized, waxed, glassinedor resinated papers, or foils derived from chemically treated or regenerated cellulose,` or those derived from various types oi modified rubber or of synthetic elastomers and the like.

The direct application of protective; materials to the,v articles oiiers-not only a greatsaving in material but it cuts down thevolume of air surrounding the packaged item to a minimum, thereby reducing the corrosionand oxidation hazards; it saves shipping and storage space aswell as giving full dimensional visibility and enhancing the appearance of the article. Moreover, such direct applicationofthe protective ilm eliminatesthe leakage caused` by imperfect seamsvor bulky corners and, last but not least, it. obviates the necessity of employing elaborate wrapping and sealing machinery, required for the use oi prefabricatedl envelopes, bags, tubes or similar Wappel.

The strip-coating media most commonlyvused in the direct application of packaging, materials in liquid form fall into three general categories as follows:

(1) Hotv melts, consisting of plastic-composi tions, comprising varying. proportionsoi cellulose esters or ethers, plasticizers, oils, waXes,'-

`maining liquid at room temperature 4and forming films or solid coatings on the articles upon the evaporation of the solvents.

(3) Reversible gels, comprising varying pro-A portions of plastic matter and volatile solvents,

the compositions being liqueable at moderate temperature and reverting fromV thisliquid sta-te toa transitory gel stage upon application to; the articles, then formingY solid coherent films, upon the evaporation of the solvents. y

All three' types ofA these above enumerated strip-coating media have the facultyV of"knit ting, i. e., adhering to themselves whenever seams over-lap, which property is generally taken advantage of in the so-called double-dipping" process, consisting of immersingl one end or the article or package in the coating mediumand then dipping the other end to form an over-lapping seam. Wherever seams'are undesirable; too

f costly, or not feasible for any reason whatever;

the so-called single-dip method may be re sorted to, the article being suspended from a cord or any other suitable support and immersed in toto, care being taken that the support be coated as well, part 0f the way at least, in order to insure a good seal at the point of contact of the latter with the article.

However, this particularmethod of packaging is subject tov certain inherent disadvantages, principally because of the wicking action of the commonly used fibrous cords, which will carry moisture to the coated article. Even plastic strands which are sometimes substituted cannot entirely overcome the wicking action. When metallic filaments are substituted, the wicking actionis `minimized but there is the difference of contraction and expansionv to contend with. Furthermore, since such iilaments are fairly rigid, they result in jarring of the seal with frequent breakage thereof when the article-is handled.

It is accordingly the primary object of the present invention to provide a method of packaging articles wherein a positive seal of small area is provided which is not subject to any of the above noted disadvantages, thus remaining intact until the coatingis deliberately removed andfresulting in packaged articles completely enshrouded in a protective coating of substantially uniform thickness over the entire area of the article.

Still further objects of the present invention will become obvious-to those skilled in thevart by reference to the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. l is a perspective View offan articleprior to-application ottfa protective strippable coating in accordance with the presentl invention;

Fig. 2 -is a cross-sectional viewfof a dip tank and illustrating themanner of supporting the` article during application civ thel protective strippable coating `according to onemethodof the present invention;

Fig. 3 is'across-sectional-view of themv article together with an illustration of a support therefor during application of the protective strippable coating according to another method of the present invention;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing still another method of applying the protective strippable coating of the'present invention;

Fig. 5 is an elevational view partly fragmentary showing the article after coating by any of the methods illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view showing the step of sealing the completely coated article, and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the completely coated article with its integral tab formed thereon in accordance with the present invention.

Although the present invention includes spraying as shown in Fig. 3, brushing as shown in Fig. 4, or any other known method of application of a protective coating, for the sake of simplicity it will be described in connection with the so-called dipmethod. Moreover, it will be understood that such invention applies to any coating composition, Whether it be a hot-melt or a liquid coating such as a lacquer. I prefer to employ a reversible gel composition, such as described and claimed in my copending application Serial lNo. 628,381, led November 13, 1945, now abandoned because of the desirable characteristics of these latter types of composition.

In accordance with the present invention, the article 5 is held at the surface thereof by a readily removable holder or support such as a magnetized rod 6 if the article be of metal, or suction at the end of the support such as shown by the rod 'l of Fig. 3. The article 5 and support S are dipped in the coating material 8 within a dip-tank 9 to a point on the sup-port 5 slightly above the top of the article 5. On removal from the bath, the coating I9 is allowed to solidify by cooling or evaporation of the solvent, as the case may be, and the support 6 or l retracted from the coated article, leaving the coated article with a short hollow sleeve l2 of plastic attached thereto. This sleeve l 2 may then be heatsealed by conventional methods such as heated jaws I3 as shown in Fig. 6, or it may be cemented with solvent or adhesive to thus form a tab i4. The result is a completely sealed packaged article as shown in Fig. 7 having a protective coating Sil of substantially uniform thickness enshrouding it, with the small integral tab i4 extending therefrom. Likewise the tab i4 is similarly formed whether the article 5 be sprayed as in Fig. 3 or the coating i9 applied by painting as shown in Fig. 4.

The tab thus formed may be subsequently used as a convenient means for holding the packaged article in a shipping box or display container. Moreover, when it is desired to strip the protective coating from the article when ready for use, the tab can be cut off without danger of injuring the article to give a starting point for stripping the entire coating from the article.

It can thus be seen that a method of applying a protective plastic coating to an article is herein provided in which the lcoating is completely closed by a positive seal that does not become broken during handling or storing of the protected article. I thus obtain an article completely enshrouded in a protective plastic envelope preferably provided with a tear tab. There is no excess coating material used which contributes considerably to the economy of the present method and package; the positive long-life seal prevents corrosion, oxidation or spoilage of any kind.

Although one speciiic embodiment ofthe present invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that modifications thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims: Y

I claim:

1. A method of packaging articles which comprises holding the article by a support of small surface area in contact with the article, applying to the article and a portion of the support a coating of a fluid composition which yields a solid strippable thermoplastic lm on the article after the lapse of a short period of time following a cessation in the application of the coating composition, stripping the thermoplastic film from the support to form a sleeve, and sealing the sleeve to form a tab.

2. A method of packaging articles which comprises holding the article by a support in contact with a relatively small surface area oi the article, spraying the article and a portion of the support adjacent their areas of contact with a coating of a iluid composition which yields a solid strippable thermoplastic lm on the article after the lapse of a short period of time following the spraying thereof, stripping the thermoplastic film from the support to form a sleeve, and sealing the sleeve to form a tab.

3. A method of packaging articles which comprises holding the article by a support in contact with a relatively small surface area of the article, brushing the article and a portion of the support adjacent their areas of contact with a coating of a fluid Ycomposition which yields a solid strippable thermoplastic film on the article after the lapse or a. short period of time following the brushing thereof, stripping the thermoplastic riirn from the support to form a sleeve, and sealing the'sleeve to form a tab on the coated article.

4. A method of packaging articles which comprises depending the article from a rod-like support in contact with the surface or the article,- dipping the article and a' portion of the support into a bath of iiuid coating composition which yields a solid strippable thermoplastic lm on the article after withdrawal from the bath, removing the article from the bath and allowing the lm to solidify, stripping the coating from the rod-like support to form a sleeve, and sealing the sleeve to form a tab on the article.

HENRY JENETT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file cf this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,659,399 Faber Feb. 14, 1928 1,685,393 Beadle Sept. 25, 1928 2,042,104 Kane May 26, 1936 2,066,516 Bugg Jan. 5, 1937 2,333,887 Redlinger Nov. 9, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 554,048 Great Britain June 17, 1943 OTHER REFERENCES Plastics, A monthly publication of the Ziff- Davis Publishing Co., Chicago, Illinois, June 1944, pp 48, 49, 50, 98 and 99. 

1. A METHOD OF PACKAGING ARTICLES WHICH COMPRISES HOLDING THE ARTICLES BY A SUPPORT OF SMALL SURFACE AREA IN CONTACT WITH THE ARTICLE, APPLYING TO THE ARTICLE AND A PORTION OF THE SUPPORT A COATING OF A FLUID COMPOSITION WHICH YIELDS A SOLID STRIPPABLE THERMOPLASTIC FILM ON THE ARTICLE AFTER THE LAPSE OF A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME FOLLOWING A CESSATION IN THE APPLICATION OF THE COATING COMPOSITION, STRIPPING THE THERMOPLASTIC FILM FROM THE SUPPORT TO FORM A SLEEVE, AND SEALING THE SLEEVE TO FORM A TAB. 